Charlie possessed a remarkable knack for consistently inquiring with astute precision, the inquisitor par excellence, and he exhibited this discerning trait even when confronted with evasive individuals. My initial obliviousness to Lea's artful dance around the subject remained intact until Charlie deftly unveiled it, a moment for which I held gratitude, for he, indeed, served as the cerebral powerhouse among us, meticulously parsing every detail, and overlooking next to nothing.
The vivid imprints that our father had indelibly etched upon the canvas of our consciousness still lingered with astounding clarity. In the span of half a millennium, Lea had not yielded to the passage of time, a rare feat in a world where even the most adept shapeshifters succumbed to the gradual silvering of th
